


you can hold my hand when you need to let go

by Nazezdha321



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Angst, Child Abuse, Foster Care, Found Family, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26575144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nazezdha321/pseuds/Nazezdha321
Summary: At just seven years old, Skye has had more foster families than almost everyone else at the orphanage - or at least, that's what her social worker, Ms. May, says. After she has to leave from the only foster house that ever felt like home, Skye is placed under the care of Jiaying and Cal.A heavy dose of found family with little Skye because I said so.
Relationships: Bobbi Morse & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Jiaying/Cal Zabo, Leo Fitz & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May
Comments: 12
Kudos: 64
Collections: AOS AU August 2020





	you can hold my hand when you need to let go

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Immortal Creatures AU that was intended I wrote for Day 8 of AOS AU August but then became so overwhelmed by writing that I stuck it in my drafts and worked on all the other ones but told myself I wouldn't post them until I posted this one!! Fun times. 
> 
> Does it even count as AOS AU August anymore?? Probably not, but I know Kat's going to read whatever I post anyway, so I'll post this for her. Love you Kat <3
> 
> As always, trigger warnings are in the tags, and please tell me if I missed any! Not beta'd, feel free to point out my mistakes if you want.

“It’s… really pretty around here,” seven-year-old Skye said, looking out the apartment window, holding her backpack in one hand and her bunny stuffed animal in the other. Her wings fluttered nervously despite her calm demeanor. 

“It is!” Cal, her foster father, agreed quickly. “Jiaying and I love it.” 

The Afterlife Apartment Complex was built especially for fairies, which Skye liked. One time, she was fostered by a few vampires and their home was dark and dusty. She was rarely - if ever - allowed to go outside because if any part of the vampire family was caught in the sunlight, it would kill them. Instead, she had to go through underground tunnels to get to a small building where she could be outside, but even then, she had to be supervised by a guardian, which meant that the family had to hire someone to look after her. 

It took her social worker, Ms. May, almost two months to get her transferred to another home. 

“Would you like to see your bedroom?” Cal offered. 

Skye nodded, staring at the big windows. If she could fly, she could fly out of those windows. Unfortunately, no one had bothered to teach her how to fly yet. She had only had one other family that were fairies like her and they hated her. The only other fairy she knew was Ms. May. 

She followed her foster father up the small stairs - there was a large balcony with no railing beside them, which was typical in fairy houses, as most fairies would fly to the second level of a house rather than climb the stairs - where there was a hallway. On the left, closer to the stairs, were the doors to a big bedroom, and they were double doors, so Skye was pretty sure that was where Cal and Jiaying slept. On the right, there was a linen closet, the door to what Skye thought would be her bedroom, and a bathroom. 

“This one’s you!” Cal said, pushing the only closed door open. 

Skye walked inside the bedroom cautiously. Plain white walls, mismatched furniture, dark curtains. Your typical foster home bedroom. At least they put her name above the bed in blue letters - the name she liked. 

Even if they forgot the  _ e,  _ it was better than Mary Sue. Ms. May must have told them. 

Cal pushed the curtains to the side, letting in sunlight and a beautiful view of a mountain. Skye wasn’t sure how an apartment complex was built somewhere so pretty. It should be illegal. “Home sweet home! Do you want help unpacking?” 

“Nothing to unpack,” Skye replied. 

“What about your backpack?” he asked, reaching for the straps. 

“No!” she shouted, yanking it backward. He stared at her, wincing at her voice. “Sorry,” Skye muttered. She breathed in and out three times like Ms. May taught her to. “My backpack is just for me, okay?” 

“Okay,” Cal agreed softly. 

A woman appeared in the doorway next to him. Her hair was in a braid and she had scars all over her face and her arms. Skye tried not to stare at them. She had her fair share of scars, but they weren’t so… so obvious. 

She smiled. “Hello, Skye. I’m Jiaying.” 

“I know,” Skye said. Ms. May told her. 

“We’ll let you get settled in,” Jiaying said, placing a hand on Cal’s. “Would you like your door closed?” 

“Yes,” she answered.  _ Use your manners, Skye,  _ came Ms. May’s unbidden voice. “Yes, please.” 

Jiaying nodded, and if her giant rainbow wings were any indication, she wasn’t mad. Cal was a werewolf, Jiaying a fairy. She wondered what brought them together and why Cal and Jiaying decided to live here - in a place meant for fairies - instead of a home for both werewolves  _ and  _ fairies. They certainly existed, Skye had been to several. 

She was suddenly aware of the way her wings were slowly flapping. The thing with fairy wings was that they showed emotion. It was a fight-or-flight thing. Very rarely could people truly control their wings, only allowing them to move when they wanted them to - Ms. May was one of them, Skye knew. She wished she could so they wouldn’t start shaking whenever someone raised their voice or their hand. She didn’t want to look like she was afraid, even if she was. 

Jiaying shut the door and Skye was alone. 

\---

_ She said to call her ‘Mom.’  _

_ Their last foster mother refused to answer to anything other than ‘Mom’ or ‘Mommy.’ Skye should’ve known then that this would be bad. The good ones let you call them whatever you wanted. Skye didn’t like calling them ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad.’ That was a title reserved for her  _ real  _ parents, whoever they were.  _

_ Skye hoped they would come to get her soon, but it wasn’t all bad at this foster home. Sure, the foster parents and the home itself sucked. But she had a lot of friends there. Jemma, for one. Jemma’s parents were scientists on the run from the government due to illegal experimentation, and because no one had been willing to take her in, she was placed in the foster care system. Jemma was a mermaid but due to her parents’ experiments, she could transform into a human at will. Fitz was half-nymph. His father - human - left and his mother - nymph - was an addict. And then there was Bobbi, the werewolf. She didn’t have family, just like Skye.  _

_ Bobbi, being the oldest and usually the one to challenge their foster parents given that all three of them were werewolves, bore the brunt of the beatings.  _

_ Their foster parents also said that they wanted Skye here. Skye didn’t want to be there. She hated them. She hated them with everything she was.  _

_ Skye wanted to tell Ms. May. But she didn’t want to leave Jemma and Fitz and Bobbi. So she lied, which she had promised Ms. May she wouldn't. Bobbi told her it was okay because they’d all stay together, and she was the one being hurt most of the time, so Skye figured at the time that it was a white lie. The kind of lie you tell to protect people. To prevent them from being removed from your life.  _

_ “You’re okay?” Ms. May asked every week.  _

_ Skye was. Bobbi wasn’t, but Skye was, so she decided it wasn’t technically lying. “Yeah.”  _

_ “And you’re happy?”  _

_ “Yeah,” Skye said again, more confidently. She  _ was  _ happy. Jemma tutored her and for the first time, she was ahead in her classes. Fitz helped her with her stutter because he used to have one, too. Bobbi protected her, made sure she got fed, walked her to school and back. Skye had her own little family.  _

_ “How are the other kids?”  _

_ “Jemma and Fitz like math and science,” Skye repeated every week. “They’re really smart. I like them. Bobbi is a really fast runner.”  _

_ “That’s good,” Ms. May said. Skye nodded. “Do you feel safe at home?”  _

_ This was where it got tricky.  _

_ No, she didn’t, not with the parents who only let her call them Mom and Dad, who expected something in return if you ate from their refrigerator or drank their tap water, who hit Bobbi. But she felt safe beside Bobbi and Jemma and Fitz, she felt at home with them.  _

_ “Yes.”  _

_ “You know you can tell me anything.”  _

_ “I know.” _

\---

Skye didn’t have a lot in her backpack. She was lucky to have a backpack at all - most kids had to carry their belongings in black trash bags, but she got the purple backpack from Ms. May when she first met her. There was a hula girl figurine that used to sit on Ms. May’s dashboard that was given to Skye when they left her seventh foster family - around her fifth birthday (or rather, the day the nuns at the orphanage made up). Some clothes. Computer parts she’d stolen or found. Her bunny stuffed animal that she’d had for years (she couldn’t remember when she got it). A leather jacket meant for a werewolf that she had cut holes out of to allow her wings to fit. A postcard from Tahiti. Skye had never been to Tahiti, but Ms. May gave it to her for her latest birthday because she thought Skye would like the beach scene on the front (she was right, as usual). 

Most of the stuff Skye owned was either stolen or given to her by Ms. May. 

There was even a picture of the two of them together that Skye requested on Christmas last year because all the other kids had pictures of their parents or siblings and Skye didn’t have anyone but Ms. May. They were at a baseball game that day. Neither of them liked baseball but they went anyway because there was good food. A stranger took the picture of Skye on Ms. May’s shoulders, cheering for the team with the purple shirts because purple was Skye’s favorite color. 

The photograph inside of a small picture frame was one of Skye’s most treasured possessions. 

“Skye?” came a knock and a voice through the door. “Can I come in?” 

Skye put the photograph on the bedside table with the hula girl and shoved everything else in her backpack. “Yeah.” 

Jiaying opened the door, greeting Skye with a gentle smile and fluttery-nervous wings. “It’s almost time for dinner. Do you like cheese pizza?” 

Skye nodded. 

“Who’s this?” Jiaying asked, gesturing to the photo on Skye’s table. Skye thought she knew because Ms. May usually came to talk to the foster families to make sure they were good. A lot of the time, they acted good but slowly spiraled. Because of that, Skye and Ms. May met every week to make sure Skye was okay and happy. 

Then again, Ms. May looked different in this picture. She was wearing a purple shirt they’d bought at one of the stores in the stadium, her leather jacket was slung around Skye’s shoulders because Skye didn’t have her own leather jacket yet, and her hair was curly from the ridiculously tight braids Skye had put in her hair earlier that day. She was smiling, too. She didn’t smile a lot. Skye didn’t mind. There wasn’t a lot to smile about in their world. 

“That’s me and Ms. May,” Skye replied. “She took me to a baseball game one time.” 

“Do you like baseball?” 

“No, but the food was good.” 

Jiaying laughed, and Skye smiled. A real smile, not a plastered one like the one she gave the Sisters. “Would you like to come down for dinner now?” 

“Yes, please.”

Jiaying looked slightly disturbed at her answer, for a second, Skye was scared. Had she done something wrong? Was Jiaying mad at her? Would she be sent back? She had just got here, and things had been going so well, and they called her Skye… 

The second was over and the look was gone. Skye stopped panicking. She took a deep breath in and out. 

She followed Jiaying out of the room, hoping her wings would stop fluttering in time for dinner.

\---

_ Dinner was where it all went wrong.  _

_ “Ungrateful bitch!” he shouted, standing up, his spine rising off of his skin, his nails lengthening. The more he rose, the more monstrous he became. Skye was pretty sure that there was a metaphor somewhere for that.  _

_ “I’m not the only dog here,” Bobbi replied coldly.  _

_ It was a family dinner night. They couldn’t exactly refuse when their foster parents offered, but they each resolved to eat as little as possible so that they wouldn’t owe too much back. Their debts were paid with various things - sentimental items being the best currency, but drugs, alcohol, and cash were also accepted. Skye stole the cash from teachers or pawned something she and Fitz had repaired when family dinners came up.  _

_ Bobbi wasn’t eating the salad that night. She was allergic to the avocado in it. She didn’t want to say that because it was something they could use against her so she told them she wasn’t hungry.  _

_ Skye had been bracing for it ever since she had taken her first bite of mashed potatoes.  _

_ Bobbi always stayed in human form during those fights, even if both parents transformed into werewolves. She always said she didn’t want to become a monster. Skye never thought werewolves were monsters but these people were. Maybe that was it. It didn’t matter anyway.  _

_ What did matter was getting back down to the basement as fast as she possibly could without attracting any attention. Jemma and Fitz both had fists clenched, but they couldn’t do anything anyway. When they were back down in the basement, Jemma would get her first aid kit from the hole in the ceiling to tend to Bobbi and Fitz would focus on making things to repay and calm down their foster parents upstairs. It would be Skye’s job to help wherever was needed, and Bobbi was hurt really bad, they would have to sneak across the street to Mack’s house so he could stitch her up. They never told Mack what was going on, making up some pretty good excuses as they went.  _

_ Skye would have to wait until both parents were in wolf form and then she would have to hope Bobbi was a good enough distraction.  _

_ This wasn’t the first home where Skye suffered abuse, but it was the first home where she didn’t tell Ms. May, and every other time, the abuser was a fellow foster kid. These were foster parents. She’d heard horror stories from kids at the orphanage, of course, but she’d learned not to trust them.  _

_ She should’ve listened, at least.  _

_ Skye’s wings were actively trying to lift her off the ground at this point. She didn’t know how to fly, but it didn’t stop her brain from wanting to.  _

_ “Skye!” Fitz whispered. He gestured to the basement door. “Go!”  _

_ Skye shook her head, watching the chaos unfold around her. Hearing Bobbi scream, either in fury or in pain. She was too scared to move.  _

_ Jemma grabbed her hand. “Come on!” _

_ She pulled Skye to the ground, and they crawled to the basement door, slowly opening it and stopping just before the creaking point.  _

_ It wouldn’t have mattered, because Bobbi let out an ear-piercing scream and fell to the floor. She was unconscious. Or she was dead. Skye shook in horror, trying not to scream or cry.  _

_ Jemma’s eyes widened and she gestured for Fitz to follow them, but he shook his head.  _

_ “He’s staying with Bobbi,” Jemma murmured to Skye.  _

_ “He can’t!” Skye hissed.  _

_ “Go to Mack’s and call 911,” she instructed.  _

_ “We’ll be split up!”  _

_ “They’re under the influence of something and they’re wolves and Bobbi’s hurt bad,” Jemma said, her eyes filling with tears. “Get your things and go to Mack and call 911.” _

_ And Skye hated herself for it, but she ran.  _

_ She nearly fell down the stairs going down into the dark basement. She turned a corner to the main room where they slept and she jammed her things in her purple backpack, taking care only to make sure her bunny’s ears weren’t stuck in the zipper, before going straight to the locked basement door, using the discarded pen cap to pick the lock. _

_ She ran.  _

_ Skye tore across the street in the cold night air. Her lips were blue and she could almost hear her heart cracking, but it wasn’t from the cold. Bobbi. Jemma. Fitz. She loved them. She was leaving them behind, and she was leaving behind any chance of being with them again. She was barefoot and her feet scratched the pavement and her hair whipped across her face but she didn’t care as she ran up to Mack’s front door. They always climbed through his window because they didn’t want his family to know.  _

_ It didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered.  _

_ She rang the doorbell again and again. His mother was a half-vampire. She was fine in the sun though occasionally had to snack on animal blood for her health. Being just a quarter of a vampire, Mack rarely felt the effects. He didn’t have fangs or even need blood.  _

_ Skye watched as Mack came to the door.  _

_ “Skye?” Mack asked. “What’s wrong?” _

_ “I need your phone,” she said.  _

_ “Where's the others?”  _

_ “I need the phone,” Skye said, breathing heavily.  _

_ “Who is it?” called one of his parents - his father.  _

_ Mack and Skye walked into the dining room. “I need to make a phone call,” Skye begged. “Please.”  _

_ A woman nodded, concerned. She gave her a black cell phone.  _

_ Skye ran to the living room. She took a deep breath, in and out. Her wings calmed. She clicked the numbers, just like Jemma said to.  _

_ “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”  _

\--- 

Dinner went well. Cal wanted her to be happy here - that much Skye could tell. She didn’t know much about Jiaying, but she knew that she couldn’t control her wings like Ms. May could. They trembled nervously throughout dinner, but Skye’s did too. Hers were tinted blue, and Jiaying’s were tinted rainbow, which was super cool.

“Do you want dessert?” Cal asked. 

Skye eyed the ice cream suspiciously. The foster family she’d had before this often tempted her with food but expected her to repay the debt later - a fact Skye hadn’t known the first time she was offered brownies. “No, thank you,” she decided. 

“Are you sure?” Jiaying wondered. “No strings. I promise.” She laid a soft hand on Skye’s, but Skye flinched away from her. 

“Can I be excused?” Skye asked. 

“Of course,” Jiaying replied softly, her eyes full of concern. Skye ignored her wings and put her dishes by the sink before running up the stairs two at a time to the bedroom they gave her. She wished Jemma or Fitz were here. She hadn’t seen them since she left, and that was all a haze of red and blue lights and screams and Ms. May. She wondered if she had said goodbye… no, she didn’t. Did she?

Maybe Ms. May would track them down for her. Skye would have to ask the next time she saw her. 

Skye sat down on the bed. 

“You’ll be okay,” she whispered, curling in on herself as she tried to remember. “You’ll be okay, you’ll be okay…” 

\---

_ “You’ll be okay,” Ms. May told her. “Shhh, you’ll be okay, honey.”  _

_ Skye was shaking so much she didn’t think she would ever stop. All of the neighbors were on their front porches, watching the scene unfold. Police cars, ambulances, Ms. May, and several other social workers were there. Bobbi’s social worker, Fitz’s social worker, Jemma’s social worker.  _

_ Bobbi. Fitz. Jemma.  _

_ “I need to see them,” Skye whispered, the first words she’d said since she answered the 911 lady on the phone.  _

_ Ms. May shook her head. “I’m sorry, Skye, you can’t - ”  _

_ “Bobbi!” Skye screamed as loud as she could. “I want to see Bobbi and Jemma and Fitz!”  _

_ One of the paramedics and several officers turned to her, but Ms. May waved them off, glaring for extra measure. “I know,” she whispered, and Skye wrapped her arms around Ms. May, hugging her tightly as she sobbed. She didn’t ever want to let go.  _

_ “I have to,” Skye choked. “I have to.”  _

_ Ms. May held her close.  _

_ “I have to say goodbye,” she whispered.  _

_ “You’re special,” Ms. May said, bending down to her level. “You never have to say goodbye.”  _

_ It wasn’t the words Skye expected to hear, and she didn’t know what Ms. May meant by them, but she clutched her social worker as tight as she could and cried until she fell asleep on Ms. May’s shoulder.  _

_ \--- _

There was a knock on the door and Skye nearly jumped out of her skin before remembering where she was. Not at the old house, with the blue and red lights surrounding her, not with Ms. May, but at an apartment complex with a nice family and no other kid but her. 

“Come in,” she said quietly. 

It was Cal. He smiled at her and sat beside her on the bed. “You’ve had it pretty rough, haven’t you?” 

Skye shrugged. 

She’d had it rough. But she’d also had it pretty good. At the baseball game with Ms. May, playing cards with Bobbi and Jemma and Fitz, sharing a bunk bed with Piper back at the orphanage. If there was one thing the foster care system had taught her, it was that everything was temporary, and you might as well enjoy the good while it lasts. 

“Jiaying and I know we aren’t perfect,” he began. “But… we hope that we’re good enough for you. We want you here, Skye.” 

_ We want you here.  _

Skye looked up at him. “That’s what they said last time.” 

Cal opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Maybe he didn’t know what to say. Skye didn’t know what she wanted to hear, so it was okay. 

“What happened last time?” Jiaying asked from the doorway. 

“Didn’t Ms. May tell you?” 

Ms. May always told them. She said it was so Skye didn’t have to, but Skye knew it was also required. Jemma told her. 

Jiaying nodded. She hesitated before asking, “Did you make friends there?”

“Like family,” Skye replied. She found that she didn’t mind telling Jiaying about them. “Jemma and Fitz and Bobbi. Can you… can I see them again, please?” 

Cal sighed and Jiaying bit her lip. “We don’t know,” Cal answered. “We could ask Melinda - ” 

“Who’s Melinda?” 

“Ms. May,” Jiaying said gently. 

Skye felt bad for not knowing that. 

“You must miss them,” Cal said. 

Skye wasn’t dumb. She knew they were trying to understand. That made them good. And good foster families don’t last. But she missed her… her family. “If I can see Jemma, I’ll never tell her that going to MIT is stupid ever again. And I’ll pay more attention to Fitz when he’s talking about monkeys. And I promise I’ll be good for Bobbi, and I’ll make sure she gets some dinner instead of me just eating it.” 

Jiaying wiped a tear off of Skye’s cheek. 

“We’ll see what we can do.” 

\---

_ They all stared at her when she went back to the orphanage. Maybe it was because they’d all heard about the arrests on the news. Maybe it was because her eyes were red from crying. Maybe it was because there weren’t three other people by her side.  _

_ “Skye!” Piper cried, running and crushing her in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Skye.”  _

_ Skye hugged her friend back. “I really miss them, Pipes.”  _

_ Piper nodded. “You always meet the best people in the worst places, Skye.”  _

_ Skye wiped her eyes for the billionth time that day. It was stupid. She shouldn’t be crying again. Ms. May promised she would get her a good home as soon as she could, and she even gave Skye a new pair of funny socks. This time, they had birds on them. She said they were mockingbirds, like the book.  _

_ Bobbi loved that book.  _

_ “Come on, your bunk is just how you left it.” Piper led Skye by the hand to their set of bunk beds in the big room. Some of the girls were still in the room - Raina was reading the Bible, Kara was asleep, Anne was folding her clothes that had just been in the laundry.  _

_ “Welcome back, Skye,” Victoria murmured from the bed beside them, packing up her belongings in her trash bag again, but this time, there wasn’t a nun waiting by the door to escort her to a new foster family. Her birthday must be today, Skye figured. She must have aged out of the system.  _

_ “See you, Vic,” Skye replied quietly.  _

_ “Come back and adopt all of us,” Piper added, grinning. It was a running joke among foster kids; being a foster kid was so awful that once someone aged out, they should adopt everyone else. It would never happen, of course. Once you got out, you had to leave that world behind. You had to leave that part of yourself behind if you wanted to truly live your life the way you wanted to.  _

_ “You have any idea what you want to do?” Alisha asked from the top bunk above Victoria.  _

_ She shrugged. “Maybe be a social worker, like Mr. Fury, but I doubt it. I don’t like kids. I want to explore the world. Protect people. We’ll see what I can find.”  _

_ “Whatever you do,” Skye said. “We’ll miss you, Vic.”  _

_ Victoria sighed. “Come on, Skye. You know I hate that nickname.”  _

_ “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop using it.”  _

_ “I know.”  _

_ \--- _

“Can I color it?” 

“Ask her,” Ms. May said. “I think she’ll say yes.” 

Skye was almost bouncing off the walls as she skipped to the room at the end of the hallway. She had never been in this house before, but everything looked exactly like Skye would have imagined. Pictures on the wall, most of them of two people on an island, or at a wedding, or just together. There was a picture of a little girl on a woman’s shoulders at a baseball game. 

Skye hesitated as she approached the door, her hand held up to knock. She looked up at Ms. May. “Will she remember me?” 

“Of course she will,” Ms. May replied. 

Skye knocked twice on the door. 

“Come in,” said a familiar voice. 

Skye pushed it open. 

Bobbi’s long blonde hair wasn’t in a ponytail like it usually was, instead laying down across her shoulders. Her eyes were red from crying, her long eyelashes darting as she blinked. She was wearing her favorite Star Wars T-shirt, the one she wore when she was happy. Skye noticed all of this in a second, and a second later, she saw Bobbi’s eyes meet her. 

“ _ Skye! _ ” Bobbi cried. 

“ _ Bobbi! _ ” Skye sobbed, leaping up into the big bed to crush her sister in a hug. “I - I missed you and Ms. May said your leg is hurt really really bad and - and you have a cast - ” 

Bobbi grinned and tapped the blanket covering her left leg. “Yeah, I do, but it’s not so bad.” 

“Did you see Jemma or Fitz?” 

Her face fell. “No. Ms. May said that she’s trying to get them from their orphanage, though.” 

Skye glanced over at her. “I got new foster parents.” 

“Are they good?” Bobbi asked. “And don’t lie.” 

Skye shrugged. “They try really hard to be. I like them. Jiaying is a fairy, like me, with rainbow wings and lots of scars on her faces. And Cal is a werewolf but Ms. May said he doesn’t ever get wolfy.” 

Bobbi nodded. “That’s good, Skye. I’m really happy for you.” 

“Do you have new foster parents?” 

“Sort of,” Bobbi said. “Ms. May’s husband, Mr. Phil, got approved for emergency foster. I didn’t even know she  _ had  _ a husband.”

“Me neither,” Skye admitted. 

She and Bobbi were quiet for a long time, only listening to the sounds of each other’s breathing, before Bobbi whispered, “Ms. May said you wanted to color my cast.” 

“I do,” Skye whispered back. “But not without Jemma and Fitz.” 

Bobbi nodded. “I miss them too.” 

\---

_ “Mary Sue,” called Sister Francis.  _

_ “My name is Skye,” Skye replied for the eighth time that day.  _

_ “Mary Sue,” Sister Francis insisted. “Ms. May is here to see you.” Sister Francis’ dislike for Ms. May was obvious, and it made her a hero among the orphans at St. Mary’s. That, and everyone knew just how good Ms. May was. Some social workers didn’t care or expected you to be like their kids, but Ms. May treated them like adults. She treated them like they were important. Skye liked that about her.  _

_ Skye stood up. “My name is Skye.”  _

_ “If you fight with them now, they won’t let you see Ms. May,” Piper whispered to her.  _

_ Skye narrowed her eyes, but remembered one of Jemma’s favorite sayings: pick your battles. She had to see Ms. May so she could see Bobbi and Jemma and Fitz.  _

_ “Piper, please get Mary Sue’s things for her. She won’t be coming back,” Sister Francis announced. Piper looked alarmed but she ran to the big room, followed by a very concerned Alisha. “Mary Sue, follow me.”  _

_ Skye hurried behind Sister Francis, trying to keep up as the nun walked quickly to one of the offices near the cafeteria.  _

_ “Ms. May,” Sister Francis said, her voice so full of disgust that Skye had to smile, “is in there. You have a new family. Don’t mess this one up, Mary Sue.”  _

_ Skye ignored her and opened the door. Ms. May sat at one of the tables, and a man in a brown suit with a big smile stood to her left.  _

_ “Hey, Ms. May,” Skye said.  _

_ “Hi, Skye,” Ms. May replied softly. “This is Cal Johnson. Mr. Johnson, this is Skye.”  _

_ \--- _

**FOUR YEARS LATER**

\---

“Skye, you’re going to be late to school!” Jiaying called from the kitchen. 

“I’m coming!” Skye yelled, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she shoved her new school materials into her new backpack. She still had her old purple one in the corner, but it was in retirement, as Skye hadn’t been moved to a new foster home in the last four years. 

“Skye!” 

“ _ I’m coming! _ ” 

Skye flew off the balcony, like she and Ms. May had been practicing in the summer, and barrelled into the kitchen. 

Jiaying smiled. “First day of sixth grade! Are you excited?” 

“Yeah, Jemma promised to meet me at the bus stop.” Jemma had been adopted earlier this year by a nice British family that had moved to the US a few months before. She was an instant hit. Fitz had been fostered by Mack and his family for the last several years. 

“What about Bobbi? She’s a sophomore this year, right?” Cal asked. 

“Yeah,” Skye confirmed as she shoved a Pop-Tart into her mouth. Bobbi had been fostered for the last four years by Ms. May and Mr. Phil. Skye missed seeing her in school. 

Cal looked like he wanted to say something. Skye set down her Pop-Tart. “... Cal?” 

Jiaying placed her hand on Cal’s. “Skye, we… we were wondering if you’d like to… to become a part of our family. Officially.” 

_ They want to adopt me?  _

“I…” 

“We know it’s a big decision,” Cal added. 

_ They want… me?  _

“Can I think about it?” Skye asked quietly. 

Jiaying nodded. “Of course, sweetheart. And we’ll love you no matter what you choose.” 

_ So why am I hesitating?  _

\--- 

_ Two-year-old Mary Sue, the first thing Skye can remember, walking down the hallway holding someone’s hand with her own and her bunny with the other, with a much too large purple backpack on her back. “Ms. May,” she whispered, “where am I going?”  _

_ “St. Agnes’,” Ms. May told her, looking down at the little girl sadly, “but just for a little while. Just until I can get you home.”  _

_ Three-year-old Mary Sue, wearing a black T-shirt that was too big so it was like a dress, staring up at one of the older girls, Maria. “You’re little,” Maria said bitterly. “They’ll take you soon.”  _

_ “Why won’t they take you?” Mary Sue asked.  _

_ “They don’t want a damaged, unimpressionable ten-year-old. They want a baby they can call their own. They want a nice little girl who will do what they say. They want someone they can lie to about being adopted. You’re little enough. You’d think it was all a dream.”  _

_ Four-year-old Mary Sue, leaving the sixth foster family in a row. “I tried, Ms. May, I really tried. Please don’t take me back.” _

_ Ms. May smiled sadly. “I have to take you back… but we can get some food first. If there’s a decent burger joint in this town.”  _

_ Mary Sue’s eyes glittered as she pointed to the big stadium. “What about over there?”  _

_ Five-year-old Mary Sue, sobbing in Ms. May’s car, wanting to get as far away from the seventh family as possible but not wanting to go to St Agnes’. “I will always come back for you,” Ms. May promised. “I’ll have to. You’re taking care of my figurine.”  _

_ Mary Sue clutched the hula girl as she walked back inside.  _

_ Six-year-old Mary Sue, stealing a leather jacket and deciding she wasn’t going to be Mary Sue anymore. She looked up at the sun and named herself for the biggest, bluest thing in the world. If Ms. May gave the new family the sky, how could they refuse?  _

_ Seven-year-old Skye, building the computer that would get her out, meeting Bobbi and Jemma and Fitz, being given the Tahiti postcard by Ms. May, being told that she was special, that she never had to say goodbye.  _

_ \--- _

“Skye!” Jemma called, running up to her at the bus stop. “Are you excited?” 

“Yeah,” Skye muttered, distracted. Why hadn’t she said yes this morning, when Cal and Jiaying asked to adopt her? What was wrong with her? Wasn’t this what she’d been begging for all her life? 

“What’s wrong?” her sister asked. 

Skye bit her lip. “Cal and Jiaying…” 

Jemma’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Did they hit you?” 

“No! No, they… they asked if they could adopt me this morning.”

“I’m so happy for you!” Jemma squealed, enveloping her in a hug. “Oh, I knew they would be the right fit, I knew it!” 

“I didn’t say yes,” Skye said. 

Jemma stepped back and frowned. “Why?” 

“I just…” 

“You’ve been waiting for this for eleven years, Skye.” 

“I know that, Jem,” she muttered. “I know, but I just couldn’t.” 

Jemma nodded. “Skye, what would you have to lose?” 

\---

_ What would she lose?  _

_ A life of hiding in basements...  _

_ A life of drunk foster parents...  _

_ A life of stealing just to survive...  _

_ A life of wondering where she’d go next...  _

_ A life of going back to St Agnes’ with the nuns and the ‘told you so’ looks and the mean kids...  _

_ A life of sitting in Ms. May’s car with her purple backpack and tears streaming down her face as she watched the raindrops on the window...  _

_... Ms. May.  _

\--- 

“Excuse me, can I call my, um…” Skye struggled to find the right word for Ms. May. 

The office lady nodded. She probably thought Skye wanted to call her mom or something. Skye had raced here as soon as the bus dropped her and Jemma at the front doors to the school, but she’d made sure Fitz could walk with Jemma to class first so she wasn’t leaving Jemma alone. “Sure, sweetheart. The phone’s right over there, make sure you dial 1 first.” 

Skye smiled weakly and went to sit in the chair by the tiny little table with a phone. She dialed 1, and then Ms. May’s phone number, the only phone number she knew by heart (besides 911, of course). 

“This is May,” she said as soon as the phone rang. 

“It’s Skye.” 

“Skye? What’s wrong?” 

“I… I need to talk to you.” 

“Where are you?” 

Skye looked over at the office lady, who was back to working on her computer. “I’m at school. In the office. I didn’t get in trouble, I just didn’t have a phone.” 

“Do you need to talk in person, or can we talk now?” 

“In person,” Skye said immediately. She didn’t want to have this conversation while the office lady was right there. 

“Okay. I’ll be right over. Wait for me there?” 

Skye nodded but realized that Ms. May couldn’t see her. “Okay.” 

“Okay.” 

\---

_ Melinda wasn’t supposed to be working that day.  _

_ She was about to leave for her honeymoon, and she’d already taken a few weeks when she got the call from her boss.  _

_ “Fury, I’m on vacation.”  _

_ “I need you to come in.”  _

_ “Did you not hear a word I just said?”  _

_ “I did. And I don’t care. Sitwell just walked out on this kid and I need you to step in, May.”  _

_ “Sitwell can’t walk out on a kid!”  _

_ “He’s already got too many of them.”  _

_ “And I’m on vacation.”  _

_ “May.”  _

_ “Fury.”  _

_ “She’s two years old, dropped off at the front door of St. Agnes’ with no records. Nothing at all when she was a baby. They named her Mary Sue. I’m sure she’ll want to change that as she gets older. Sitwell took her for a while, but he says she’s done. He says she’s not going to get adopted and he doesn’t want another age-out on his record.”  _

_ Melinda would tell her now-husband that she had to go, and he would sigh and tell her to be back soon.  _

_ That was just how they worked.  _

_ “Ms. May,” the little girl whispered as they walked down the long hallway, “where am I going?”  _

_ “St. Agnes’,” Melinda told her, looking down at the girl sadly, “but just for a little while. Just until I can get you home.”  _

_ She didn’t know that it would take seven years to find Mary Sue a home.  _

_ But Melinda May was always up for a challenge. Maybe that’s why Fury called her in.  _

\---

“What’s up?” Melinda asked, staring at the quiet eleven-year-old across from her. “You haven’t called me like this since - ” 

“It’s been years,” Skye muttered. 

“Cal and Jiaying asked me for adoption papers the other day, is that what this is about?” 

“Sort of.” 

Melinda hesitated. “They’re good people, Skye. You’re safe with them.”

“It’s not about that,” Skye replied. “I like them. I want them to be my mom and dad. But I don’t want…” 

Melinda looked at the girl she’d known practically all her life. Skye started to cry. She knelt by Skye’s side. “Skye, whatever it is, you can tell me.” 

“I don’t want to lose you,” Skye whispered. “If they adopt me, then y-you’re not gonna see me that often, right?” 

“You remember what I told you?” 

“That I never have to say goodbye.” 

“That’s right. Beyond the fact that you’re over at my house to see Bobbi nearly every day, do you think I’d just disappear from your life the second you found a family?” 

Skye shook her head. 

“You aren’t going to lose me, Skye. Ever.” 

\---

_ Twelve-year-old Skye, winning her first soccer game with Cal, Jiaying, Ms. May, Bobbi, Jemma, and Fitz on the sidelines, cheering.  _

_ Thirteen-year-old Skye, graduating middle school, everyone in their seats clapping, including Piper, who Ms. May made sure was there.  _

_ Fourteen-year-old Skye, starting high school, Cal trying not to cry as he drops her off. He didn’t think Skye noticed when he took a picture of her and sent it to Jiaying, Bobbi, and Ms. May, but she did.  _

_ Fifteen-year-old Skye, elected class president, Jemma and Fitz throwing a party, and Bobbi coming from college to be there.  _

_ Sixteen-year-old Skye, flying across a canyon, her wings the same shade of blue as the great expanse she was named for.  _

_ Skye graduating high school.  _

_ Skye’s twenty-first birthday.  _

_ Skye and Jemma, Skye and Fitz, Skye and Bobbi. _

_ Skye’s life in snapshots, taped to the fridge, hung on the wall, set neatly in an office.  _

_ Skye, smiling brightly in every photograph because she knows that she’s the luckiest person in the world. _

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to aosficnet2 for hosting this challenge, however late my fics may be posted. I also feel obligated to remind all of you to check your voter registration if you're in the US and vote as early as possible!! Thank you for reading and please leave kudos/comments if you feel this merits them. 
> 
> Hugs and sunshine <3


End file.
